Kurt von Schleicher

Schleicher was born into an aristocratic Prussian family in Brandenburg in 1882. His father Hermann von Schleicher was an officer in the Prussian army. Like his father, he pursued a career in the Prussian military. Following his mentor Wilhelm Groener, he was appointed to the Kriegsamt (German War Office). In 1917, he was sent to the Galician Front. Thanks to his close ties with Groener and Groener’s pact with Friedrich Ebert, Schleicher successfully adapted to the new order after the November Revolution. In 1919, Schleicher was transferred to the Reich’s Ministry of Defense, where he became one of Hans von Seeckt’s closest staff members. When his department was transformed into a ministerial office, Schleicher became a civil servant with the rank of state secretary - a promotion. In 1932, he used his connections in the president’s office to have first Papen then himself appointed chancellor. Yet his attempts to convince the Nazis to join the government coalition failed. After secret talks between Hindenburg, Papen, and Hitler to have Hitler appointed chancellor, Schleicher stepped down at the end of January 1933, recommending Hitler as the new chancellor.